My Chest Freezer
My chest freezer needed to be cleaned out and defrosted. It was on my list to do it in July and that never happened. I wasn't working on Monday and I had no plans for the day so, youngest daughter and I got working on that. I could do it myself and have done it, but it is much easier with some help. Being that it is summer vacation here I have plenty. I also think it is good for the kids to learn to do things and the best way to learn is by doing it.
I started by pulling everything out. I then scrapped it down and got rid of all of the ice. Next I cleaned it inside and out with warm water and bleach. . I made sure to clean the seals really well. I then dried it.
I want to try to keep the freezer more organized. My freezer came with 2 wire baskets that hang from the top. Whoever designed these things must not use a chest freezer. I have had numerous items freeze into the gaps which is a pain in the you know what. So I put all of my frozen bacon into one.
The other basket I put meat in. It is ground beef, beef chunks and London broils.
I used a cardboard box to put baggies of veggies that I had on the shelf. I then went looking for other baskets. I found a good sized red one. This got berries in it for smoothies, pancakes and muffins.
The last basket got butter and cheese in it. The butters always seem to end up on the bottom of the freezer. This will hopefully keep them all together.
I put everything else in such as my turkey, hams and chickens first. Then I put the 2 extra baskets on top.
They fit great. I can just lift them out and look underneath for the items I need.
I did bring several items upstairs to use. I decided to make a pot of chili. I found some tomatoes from last years garden. Some black beans that I cooked in the spring. Onions that had been starting to sprout so I had chopped them up. I also put some older items in the upstairs freezer. That is where I look first when cooking so having them upstairs means they will get used soon.
I am very happy that I got this done. It looks great and hopefully stays more organized this way. Only time will tell.
So nicely organized! It seems like there's no good way to *keep* chest freezers organized. I have one too. I love it, but it's hard to dig through, especially since mine is in our garage and it gets cold in there in the winter. I so wish we had the space for it inside, but we don't.
ReplyDeleteLet see it last. Ours in in our unfinished cellar. We don't have a garage so this works for us. It is great for our garden produce.
DeleteIf you want, your daughter can come to my house and learn how bad a freezer can be. I really need to do it soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'll let her know.
DeleteMama taught e to use a fan to escape scraping. It will blow away the ice so you can just pull it out. I wish I had a freezer of any sort even though I could never left things from a chest. My upright broke and wasted hundred of dollars worth of food...sigh.
ReplyDeleteThat stinks that you freezer broke. Sorry for all of the lost food. Did you look into your home owners policy to see if it would cover the food loss? Mine does minus a deductible.
DeleteA blow dryer makes quick work of loosening the ice and also making sure everything is really dry when you are done.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea. We have used a blow dryer on our ice machine when it over freezes. I'll have to remember that for next time. I worked at an ice cream parlor in my younger years so I am used to just scraping it out.
Delete